"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings."--- Lewis Carroll

Sunday, May 22, 2005

Tales From The Trenches: Classroom Teachers Speak

Welcome to another installment of our regular Sunday feature, Tales From The Trenches: Classroom Teachers Speak. What we have done is assemble an offering of posts that have been published by those who serve in the classroom. Think of this as a collection of posts written by those who have made reading possible.

This collection will be updated throughout Sunday as time permits, with updates placed at the top of the list.After a short hiatus, John, over at A Teacher's Viewpoint, is posting again. In his most recent post, he asks a fascinating question regarding student morale: "What would happen if we started treating students like the young adults that they are?"

Dan "M" over at A History Teacher has been very busy recently. Finishing a Master's, nearly finishing a school year, and caring for some sick children. It looks like Dan is going to have to sign-up to teach summer school so he can get some rest!

In his unique (and highly readable) style, Bronx teacherMr. Babylontells us some of the things that may be "Key Indicators That You May Not Be Cut Out To Be A Gangster."

The First Year Teacher is now finishing her second year. (We guess that soon she'll be a third year teacher.) Even though FYT is not a mother, she received a Mother's Day letter from a student that taught her something that only experience can teach. The always touchy subject of teacher tenure is addressed in a hilarious post over at Fred'sWorld. Where on Earth did Fred get that picture? It reminds us of someone that we know.

For teachers, a good conference can be hard to find. Luckily, New York City science teacher Ms.Frizzle was able to attend an overnight retreat that had some productive results. As a bonus, go to the main page, scroll down to the posts for May 15th and take a look at a really great set of posts from NYC "First Warm Night Party." Don't miss it.Jack "F" writes at a site called No NCLB.org. This week, he is showing us a letter critical of testing that was published recently in the Boston Globe. Be sure to take a look at his previous post which featured a letter written by a parent.

Our district doesn't permit student blogs. Which is sad. Nevertheless, we are excited whenever we do learn of student-run blogs in the EduSphere. Bud The Teacher has been conducting an experiment in student blogs and is in the process of concluding the experiment. Consider taking a look and following Bud's links.A perfect activity for the end of the year, the game of EduSphere Tag continues: Ms. FrizzletaggedPost-Hip Chick and Jenny D. Next, A Series of Inconsequential Eventsgot tagged by Post-Hip Chick. See for yourself which five things When Pigs Sing (who writes A.S.I.E.) would like to be. (Last week, Jenny D. tagged us, and then we tagged three...)

Have you ever heard of a "ticker?" (No, it's not a type of dog.) At Social Studies, Abigail has developed a nice tickerto count-down the days. She has a small request for those readers that live in the south...

In a post that addresses a subject "near and dear to our hearts," Hedgetoadis bringing to our attention the sad fact that many school districts think it necessary to censor students' (and teachers') access to the internet. Even The New York Times is off-limits at Hedgetoad's school. (Sounds like our school's filter, which is called, "Bess.")

Aside from a few well-paid superintendents in large school districts, did you know that it's possible to get rich in public education? Over at Assorted Stuff, Tim will tell you exactly how. Sadly, some are getting rich and not doing a good job while they're doing it!When the TeenWonk turns 15 in a couple of years, she'll have her quincenera. (She's been planning it for over a year.) For those that may not be familiar with Mexican culture, the quincenera is a religious ceremony/blow-out party that a girl's family throws for her on her 15th birthday. These parties are as individual as the girls that sponsor them; no two are alike.(Think of it as a "sweet 16 party" on overdrive.) Nicole, at Post-Hip Chickgot to go to her very first one.

Over at Teach 42, they are asking for readers to take a short survey in order to gauge the popularity of podcasting. I've taken it myself. It's painless, and there is to be a raffle for a Flickr Pro account. (Folks with I.E. browsers may need to scroll down.) Deadline is midnight tonight!Here at The Education Wonks, we humbly submit for your approval our post that addresses the subject of censorship of The Kernal, which is the student newspaper at East Bakersfield High School.View last week's Tales From The Trenchesright here.

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